It turned out to be a doozy with all sorts of fireworks, and while we can’t give anything away before it airs (part one premieres Sunday at 10/9c), the countless hours lurking behind the cameras did yield some interesting little tidbits for the RHONJ die-hards out there.

Here’s what we noticed:1. Family still comes first: From the Housewives themselves to production assistants and crew members, there were tears in nearly everyone’s eyes following a montage of Jacqueline Laurita’s son Nicholas, who she recently announced has been diagnosed with autism. Nicholas utters a few words in the video that cause Jac to sob uncontrollably, which had everyone misty-eyed for her.

2. Lauren Manzo does double duty: When she’s not defending her mom, Lauren’s make-up expertise comes in handy, as she does touch-ups and keeps mom Caroline Manzo and Jacqueline looking all done up in between takes.

3. The bar was NOT open: In between the drama-filled taping, both Joe Giudice and Chris Laurita were both in need of a stiff cocktail. Joe G was hoping some of the wine bottles used as decor were corkable (they weren’t), while Chris headed back to craft services in search of something a bit stronger. Sadly, there was no alcohol on set.

4. Teresa Giudice doesn’t do tanning — just bronzer and spray tan: Despite Andy Cohen‘s love of T’s (amazing) tanning salon commercial from a few years ago, Teresa’s given up the UV lights and opted instead for sprays and bronzers. And after a slew of Andy-arm-grabbing, the remnants of said treatments were left as a souvenir on his suit.

5. Reunions take for-freaking-ever: When all was said and done, Andy was on set from about 9 am until well after 11 pm. The shoot itself lasted roughly 13 hours, including lunch.

6. Cameras take breaks; fights don’t:Throughout the day, even when the cameras stopped rolling, the combat often continued. The ‘Wives clearly weren’t doing it solely for the cameras.

7. Joe Giudice really enjoys Red Bull: Joe G. needed a bit of a pick-me-up before sitting down for his emotional interview, and Red Bull was his remedy. When the cameras were about to start up, rather than put it to the side, Joe chugged the entire can, leaving Andy smirking and saying “OK, here we go!”

8. Don’t ever mention Rosie and Kathy Wakile’s father: You’ll see at the end of the first episode what we mean here …

9. Speaking of Kathy, she’s has had a little work done: You may notice that Kathy Wakile looks slightly different, and in the first few moments of the shoot, she addresses her newly-revised facial features, making for a hilarious follow-up line courtesy of Andy.

10. Melissa Gorga can sing on cue … and so can Teresa: There’s one part of the reunion when Teresa and Melissa get into it over M’s singing career, prompting Melissa to bust out a few lines – and Teresa to follow suit. We’ll let you channel your inner Adam Levine and decide for yourself who has the stronger voice.

MeGo did NOT want to sing on cue in this interview with GoodDayNY… from August 18, 2011. MeGo also says she doesn’t “lip sing”…

I cant get the image of her nose on the napa trip when her and T were in the rv talking out of my head. I found myself more interested in her nose than the conversation. I was lurking in bravo blogs a couple weeks ago and someone actually commented that she has the best nose ever. And it wasnt sarcastic given the rest of the comment. Couldnt believe it.

The Melissa video was sooooo interesting
1. She states she never taught ( contrary to the season finale where she says she was teaching….)
2. She says she never said she never said that -she’s never seen Teresa cook. LIE.
3. She says no punches were thrown at the Christening. LIE
4. Her face lights up when they say Teresa is jealous of her. yet on the show she said she has ” loyalty” towards Teresa…..
5. Her Acapella SUCKS.
***AT this point she claims the family is doing better… so clearly this is before the finale**

I predict that Mandy’s behavior at the reunion will cause a major backlash from RHNJ followers who know “What Really Happened” and he will have to consider some sort of mea culpa re Anderson Pooper. Bravo is probably waiting for the backlash to consider their next move with NJ. This will be fun to watch. Thanks to Ms. SH and this website for keeping it real for us.

I work with autistic children……there is no cure….the gluten free diet does not work, healthy, organic, foods do make a difference ….what does work is a LOT of time on the part of the parents and trained teachers and instructional specialists. Early diagnosis is clearly an advantage; there are many, many resources available from the public school systems. And there are no two cases the same under the spectrum.

So they stated the shooting went on for 13 hours. I guess it means Tre was telling the truth on AC show after all? Some people commented that Tre was lying about the long hours of shooting at the reunion. Hmmm.

Thanks! I felt like an idiot after I posted my comment upthread. I’m sure alcohol ups the drama factor and that is Bravo’s goal.IMO they serve up the booze and watch the fur fly it’s not as if the Reunion Shows are sedate afternoon teas.

I think BRAVO is trying to counter Lauren’s flub (not flab, lol) about the xanax with the whole No Alcohol thing. I don’t be-weave it for a nano-second. And yes, Jax got an early diagnosis – after delaying the Dr. visit due to health insurance – but of course not delaying her own cosmetic procedures. VILE!